Portugal Navy Honors Hawaii Surfer

Calling Garrett McNamara a “big-wave” surfer just wouldn’t do him justice. It should be more like “gigantic” or “humungous” to describe the waves this Hawaii surfer takes off on. After all, he did catch the world’s largest wave in Portugal in 2011.

That’s why the country’s navy decided to forego the descriptive adjectives and instead, award McNamara with the Medalha Naval de Vasco da Gama. It was presented to him during a ceremony in Lisbon, where diplomats from the United States and Norway attended. He worked with the navy’s hydrography office to forecast wave heights, according a report by the Associated Press.

McNamara definitely got people talking when he dropped into a 78-foot bomb at Praia do Norte, known for its massive, mountain-like waves. Initially, it had been estimated to be a 100-foot wave that smashed the surfing legend’s own world record. However, Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards and Guinness World Records confirmed it to be a record at 78-feet.

Perhaps just as impressive as the wave height itself is the fact that McNamara is 45 years old! He is definitely older than most champion surfers; yet, that doesn’t seem to stop him from charging some of the biggest waves in the world. Can’t wait to see what he drops into next.